CEN’s Board Organizational Preparedness (BOP)



A diverse nonprofit board ensures that the organization's leadership is connected to the communities they serve. If board members embody the identities of those communities, they are more likely to respond to their needs more effectively. CEN’s Board Organizational Preparedness (BOP) cohort program supports organizations working to diversify their boards and do exactly that.

The program promotes long-term success through a deep understanding of IDEAL principles. Our work centers around inclusion, diversity, equity, access, and liberation (IDEAL) principles in all that we do, as part of our commitment to dismantling structural and institutional challenges in the nonprofit sector, empowering board members to continue this important work in their own organizations. Learn more here: https://www.cen.org/brb.html.

CEN has designed a two-part series to help organizations diversify their Boards:

IDEAL Training: This workshop is a genuine, candid space to explore IDEAL principles and their effect on the nonprofit organizations themselves, as well as, the communities they serve.

Panel Discussion and Roundtable: Guest speakers offer peer learning and leading practices to embody IDEAL. Then, BOP organizations are invited to share their plans to incorporate IDEAL into their governance and board recruitment practices.

Networking opportunity: The experience culminates in a board matching event, where the Building Representative Boards cohort members, and Board Organizational Preparedness organizations can connect and explore the possibility of working together to further their collective community impact.

Register your Executive Director/CEO and Board Chair to IDEAL by submitting this form.

Learn more about this program here: https://www.cen.org/brb.html

Upcoming Board Matching Event

CEN’s Board Matching Event is a space where individuals can connect and explore the possibility of working together to further their collective community impact. It is open to Building Representative Boards participants from all past cohorts and Board Organizational Preparedness organizations. The next Board Matching event will be on Thursday, April 11th, from 6 - 8 pm PST, Online. 

March Programs

Applied Wisdom for the Nonprofit Sector - Insights for Leadership

CEN has partnered with the Morgan Charitable Foundation in our upcoming workshop, Applied Wisdom for the Nonprofit Sector - Insights for Leadership. Join us on March 6th from 9:00 am to 11:00 am PT via Zoom as we explore the Morgan written leadership booklet, “Applied Wisdom.” The booklet can be found here. 

This two-hour workshop will serve as an introduction to the booklet section, Applied Wisdom for Nonprofits: Eight Practical Insights for Leadership. Participants will be guided in using IDEAL as a lens to tackle real-life situations in the nonprofit world, applying them to the eight “Morganisms.”

*The above information has been corrected from a previous email where the Morgan Charitable Foundation was incorrectly listed.

IDEAL Program for Nonprofit Professionals 

In today's evolving world, understanding and implementing Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Access, and Liberation (IDEAL) within your organization is not just necessary—it's imperative. CEN's IDEAL Program offers a safe, respectful space to explore these crucial principles and their impact on communities and organizations. Join us on March 12th from 9 am-12 pm & 1 pm-4 pm PDT via Zoom to take part in CEN’s IDEAL Program for Nonprofit Professionals. Participants will engage in candid conversations on IDEAL topics while gaining foundational knowledge, strategies, and the beginnings of an action plan for their organization's journey toward greater inclusivity and equity. 

Intentional Branding: You and Your Organization 

In the upcoming online workshop, Intentional Branding: You and Your Organization, the CEN team will help attendees define their personal and professional brands. Set for March 13th from 9-12 pm via Zoom, participants will learn to differentiate and harmonize their brands with their organization's identity, ensuring alignment that amplifies impact. Furthermore, the workshop will equip attendees with advanced messaging techniques, empowering them to articulate their personal and organizational brands with newfound clarity and effectiveness. 

Passing the Torch: Nonprofit Succession Planning

Hoping for a seamless transition of your executive or key nonprofit staff? This upcoming workshop is made for you. On March 20th from 9-12 pm PST via Zoom, the CEN team will equip participants in nonprofit succession planning. Ideal for nonprofit executives, Board members, and anyone involved in planning for the future of their organization, this workshop will provide participants with the tools to develop a comprehensive transition plan, emphasizing clear roles for Board members and staff. 

Is your organization located in or serving the city of San Bruno? Thanks to new grant funding from the San Bruno Community Foundation, all San Bruno nonprofit professionals (staff & board members of organizations located in and/or serving the San Bruno population) can take advantage of deep discounts to any of CEN’s nonprofit professional development workshops! Nonprofits located in or serving San Bruno can access these workshops at the discounted rate of:

$40 | CEN Discount Price

Visit the registration page of any workshop to learn more and register! Thank you to the San Bruno Community Foundation for this opportunity

Is your organization located in or serving Santa Clara County? Thanks to generous funding from the Applied Materials Foundation, all staff and board members of nonprofits that are located in or serving Santa Clara County can still take advantage of deep discounts on any of CEN’s nonprofit professional development workshops! Through this partnership, nonprofits located in or serving Santa Clara County can access these workshops at the discounted rate of:

$40 | CEN Discount Price

Visit the registration page of any workshop to learn more and register! Thank you to the Applied Materials Foundation for this opportunity!